Is Randall Woodfield, The I-5 Killer, Responsible For This 1974 Minnesota Cold Case Murder?

MINNEAPOLIS, MN — Police in Minnesota hope that DNA test results will help them find a clue that could crack the unsolved murder of a woman in Minneapolis 44 years ago.

Mary Schlais’ body was found along a rural road over a snow bank near her home in Spring Brook Township in 1974. Schlais, a master’s student at the University of Minnesota, had planned to hitchhike to Chicago to attend an art show — but she was found dead three hours later.

Sergeant Scott McRoberts of the Dunn County Sheriff’s Office said that Schlais had been stabbed at least 15 times.

A witness reported that he saw a man in a compact car throw a body in the ditch, and helped police create a sketch of the suspect later.

In 2009, the Sheriff’s Office exhumed Schlais’ body for DNA testing. They are now finally ready to reveal some of the results. “There’s different types of DNA that can be tested for, and all I’m going to say is we got two profiles,” McRoberts said. Neither of the DNA profiles are a match to Schlais.

McRoberts also said that they have not ruled out a link to Randall Woodfield, the former Green Bay Packers draft pick who would later be known as the I-5 killer. Investigators have determined that Woodfield was traveling from Portland to Green Bay at the time that Schlais was killed. And all of his victims were — like Schlais — petite white women in their 20s.

Randall Woodfield [Marion County Sheriff’s Office]

Randall Woodfield is currently serving a 90-year prison sentence. Though he was charged with only one murder, investigators have linked him to 44 other killings — many of the discoveries were made years after Woodfield was incarcerated. He continues to maintain his innocence in connection with the murders.

Police have asked anyone with information about the case to contact the Dunn County Sheriff’s office at (715) 231-2917. They can also go to DunnCountyCrimeStoppersWeb.com to anonymously report a tip.

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WCCO

Main photo: Mary Schlais [CBS (screenshot)]

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